This patent application relates generally to interconnection systems, such as those including electrical connectors, used to interconnect electronic assemblies.
Electrical connectors are used in many electronic systems. It is generally easier and more cost effective to manufacture a system as separate electronic assemblies, such as printed circuit boards (“PCBs”), which may be joined together with electrical connectors. A known arrangement for joining two printed circuit boards is to connect them in a stacking configuration. In this configuration, the two printed circuit boards are parallel to one another, and are connected using vertical connector. These connectors are often referred to as “mezzanine connectors” or “stacking connectors”. One printed circuit board may have a first mezzanine connector mounted thereon and a second printed circuit board may have a second mezzanine connector mounted thereon. Each one of the mezzanine connectors includes a plurality of contact portions made of a conductive material. When the printed circuit boards are to be connected, the mezzanine connectors are mated, such that corresponding contact portions form electrical contacts.
Regardless of the exact application, electrical connector designs have been adapted to mirror trends in the electronics industry. Electronic systems generally have gotten smaller, faster, and functionally more complex. Because of these changes, the number of circuits in a given area of an electronic system, along with the frequencies at which the circuits operate, have increased significantly in recent years. Current systems pass more data between printed circuit boards and require electrical connectors that are electrically capable of handling more data at higher speeds than connectors of even a few years ago.